At What Cost
by Ardikani4
Summary: Following the Battle of Chicago, Warrior Star reflects on what the true cost of war is. DotM inspired one-shot.


**A/N: Hello all Transformers fanfic people! This is a one-shot I wrote following Dark of the Moon. I didn't completely finish it until a couple days ago, then I spent some time reviewing it to ensure it was the best I could possibly come up with. I believe it is, but what do I know? :)**

**This one-shot features my OC, Warrior Star. You can read a little more about her in my other Transformers fic In The Past. This fic was inspired by how many other authors wrote about the loss of Ironhide. Well...this is my submission to that particular story chain, if that's what you'd like to call it. Really late, I know. But real life and some other stories caught up with me.**

**And my usual yarn, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything you care to dispense.**

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><p><em>War is war. Sacrifices must be made, lives will be lost. But what is the true price of victory? Is it measured in the amount of lives lost or how much blood was spilled by the injured and dead alike? Is it counted in fallen enemies that will never fight again, or in comrades that will never go home? What did this victory cost us?<em> Warrior Star thought as her mighty paws thumped quietly on the destroyed streets of Chicago, the wind gently stirring the thick metal fur that surrounded her neck and shoulders and making it chime like quiet bells in the otherwise silent air.

_Is the cost of our war going to be counted in the fallen, or in the amount of money the humans will need to spend to repair the damage?_ She wondered as she made her way out of the war zone, heading for quiet solace away from the destruction that she had helped to create as she continued thinking.

_Victory was ours. But at what cost?_ The great Cybertronian wolf thought as she finally found herself on the outskirts of the city, staring at nothing as memories rose from the battle and assaulted her mind. She had watched as humans and Autobots alike fell to the Decepticons. And she had felt the pain of those losses through her bonds with Autobot leader Optimus Prime and NEST team leader Lieutenant Colonel William Lennox. Both of them had lost many good friends during the battle, but the greatest agony had come from Lennox when Ironhide had fallen.

_Ironhide…forgive me…I was not there to watch your back. You were always there for me. I have failed you, my friend…_ Warrior Star thought in sorrow as she stopped walking, lowering her huge head as her midnight blue optics shuttered and went offline in her grief.

_Over the millennia, the armor you so carefully crafted for me and the others kept us safe through so many battles. You were always ready to defend us all at a moment's notice. That you fell from such a cowardly attack…it is an injustice to your courage on so many levels. You did not deserve the fate that befell you. You deserved an honorable battle, not a shot to the back._ The wolf ground her jagged teeth, a snarl of anger, pain, and betrayal ripping itself from her chest before she threw her head back and howled her fury and grief to the gray and sullen sky.

"Why? Why that mech? Why not me?" Warrior Star bellowed, her voice rolling like thunder as her deadly claws ripped great furrows through the ground beneath her in her rage. Snarling again, she lowered her head, her optics flickering and dimming as she asked more softly, "Why?"

Warrior Star thought about Will Lennox and his family, his wife Sarah and his daughter Annabelle. _Oh Primus…poor Annie. She loved Ironhide…_ The great wolf thought in dawning horror as she realized the true extent of the tragedy that was the loss of Ironhide. _How is Will going to tell Annie that Ironhide is gone?_ She wondered as she slowly sank down onto her stomach, her optics dull as she raised her head to the cold gray sky once more.

"Why Ironhide? He had so much to go back to…what did he do to deserve such an unjust fate? What did the Lennox family do to deserve such a tragic loss? What did we all do to deserve such a Primus-forsaken war?" She asked aloud before her optics fell once more. The wolf placed her head on her mighty forepaws, oily tears dripping from darkened optics as she quietly grieved for one of her oldest friends.

Warrior Star was unaware that she was no longer alone until she felt a small hand touch one of her deadly claws. Bringing her midnight blue optics back online, she looked in the direction of the touch, finding herself staring into the teary hazel eyes of Lieutenant Colonel Will Lennox.

Immediately reaching out carefully with her nose, the great Cybertronian wolf very, very gently touched the tip of her nose to the human's chest, feeling his small but powerful body shaking with the grief he was trying so desperately to contain.

"Oh, Will…I'm so sorry…" Her gentle whisper reached the human's ears, and he let loose with a strangled cry, crumpling against the wolf's muzzle and wrapping his arms tightly around the scarred armor in his pain. Warrior Star moved with the greatest of care as she took the Colonel's shaking frame in one huge paw, curling him into the warm armor of her chest in an effort to comfort him.

Cycling her vents in a human-like sigh, Warrior Star lowered her head until her jaw was lying on the ground once again as she curled her entire massive frame around the grief-stricken human. As she focused on calming Will down, her thoughts turned back to the fallen Cybertronian mech whose demise had caused so much anguish and grief.

_Rest in peace, great warrior. Your memory will live on in the hearts of the humans you fought for, and in the sparks of the Autobots you defended. You shall never be forgotten._


End file.
